Dan Skelton to be charged by BHA over horse sale as owners seek further censure

Trainer Dan Skelton is to be charged by the BHA with two breaches of the trainers' code of conduct in relation to his dealings with a syndicate of owners over the sale of a horse, three and a half years after a complaint was first made to the regulator.

The intended charges relate to the £130,000 private purchase of the Skelton-trained George Gently in October 2016 by a group of owners headed by Tony Holt, an existing owner within the yard who was involved in the ownership of 2016 County Hurdle winner Superb Story.

The 36-year-old trainer said on Sunday that the BHA "had not sent any formal charges" relating to George Gently, while Skelton is also the subject of a further complaint by Holt and his co-owners over their private purchase of Goforthecraic to be trained by him in June 2017.

After finishing second for Skelton on his debut in France, George Gently was purchased by the syndicate from David Futter, the co-owner of the horse and owner of Yorton Farm Stud, following discussions with the trainer and a bloodstock agent.

Shortly after the sale, the syndicate were informed George Gently had sustained a tendon injury, which kept him off the track for 516 days. He was subsequently sold for £1,800 after showing little form in two races.

Holt alleges Futter subsequently disclosed to him that Skelton had owned a third of George Gently, unbeknownst to the syndicate, and received a third of the sale price.

The claim was later rejected by Futter and Skelton, who indicated that an arrangement was in place where the trainer would receive a third of the sale of any horse owned by Futter in lieu of training fees which were not being charged on the horses he had at the yard.

The BHA initially dismissed the complaint in October 2019 following an investigation into the sale that began in July 2018, but reopened the case and concluded last month that the arrangement between Futter and Skelton "appears to lack transparency".

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Skelton is set to be charged with breaching the trainers' code of conduct with respect to a licensed trainer's dealing with their owners. The BHA said it "does not comment on ongoing investigations or speculation around possible investigations".

Dan Skelton (left) pictured with Yorton Farm Stud owner David FutterCredit: Sarah Farnsworth / Goffs UK

In a statement on Sunday, a spokesman for Holt and his co-owners reiterated the syndicate's stance that Skelton acted as a "joint agent" in the purchase of George Gently and was a co-owner in the horse, meaning further charges should be levied against him.

The spokesman said: "The BHA informed the syndicate that it would communicate its latest position regarding its complaint about Mr Skelton on December 21, 2021.

"The syndicate asserts that Mr Skelton did act as one of joint agents in the purchase of George Gently and that Mr Futter's disclosure of Mr Skelton's one-third ownership was a true statement. Therefore, it believes Mr Skelton should be charged with a breach of the Agent's code of practice, including trainers acting in that capacity. This is in addition to the proposed charge for breach of the code of conduct applied to trainers.

"The Agent's code of practice was introduced by the BHA 17 years ago and in that time not one individual has been censured for breaching the code despite the endemic malpractices in racehorse sales highlighted by Mr Justin Felice's bloodstock industry review, commissioned by the BHA and delivered in the autumn of 2019."

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